George Stoneman (1822-1894)
|contributors=MainTour |birth_year=1822 |birth_month=08 |birth_day=08 |birth_locality=Busti, New York |birth_county=Chautauqua County, New York |birth_nation-subdiv1=New York (state) |birth_nation=United States |death_year=1894 |death_month=09 |death_day=05 |death_locality=Buffalo, New York |death_county=Erie County, New York |death_nation-subdiv1=New York (state) |death_nation=United States |ifmarried-g1=true |wedding1_year=1856 |wedding1_locality=Washington, D.C. |wedding1_nation-subdiv1=D.C. |wedding1_nation=United States |remains_address=Bentley Cemetery |remains_locality=Lakewood, New York |remains_county=Chautauqua County, New York |remains_nation-subdiv1=New York (state) |remains_nation=United States |globals= }} Biography George Stoneman, Jr. (August 8, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a United States Army cavalry officer, trained at West Point, where his room-mate was Stonewall Jackson. Mormon Battalion Officer Participant in the march of The Mormon Battalion. This unit of the US Army served in the Mexican-American War and was the only religiously based infantry unit ever created by Presidential order. It consisted of nearly 500 men recruited exclusively from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormons). They undertook the longest infantry march in U.S. military history (as of 1847) and in the process marked out and creating the first continuous wagon road to California which linked the future states of New Mexico, Arizona, and California to the United States. Most members served an initial 12 month term (Jul 1846- Jul 1847) with some members re-enlisting for an additional 12 months afterwards. Civil War In the Civil War, he became Adjutant to George B. McClellan, who did not appreciate the use of centralised cavalry, and was therefore outperformed by the Confederates, who did. At Chancellorsville, under Joseph Hooker, Stoneman failed in an ambitious attempt to penetrate behind enemy lines, getting bogged down at an important river crossing. Hooker's sharp criticism of Stoneman may have been partly aimed at deflecting the heavy blame being directed at himself for the loss of this major battle that most generals believed to be winnable. While commanding cavalry under William Tecumseh Sherman in Georgia, Stoneman was captured, but soon exchanged. In the last weeks of the war, he led raids into Virginia that inspired the song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Stoneman was governor of California between 1883 and 1887. Early Years Stoneman was born on a family farm in Busti, New York, the first child of ten. His parents were George Stoneman, Sr., a lumberman and justice of the peace, and Catherine Rebecca Cheney. He studied at the Jamestown Academy and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1846; his roommate at West Point was future Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. His first assignment was with the 1st U.S. Dragoons, with which he served across the West and in California. He was the quartermaster of The Mormon Battalion, which marched from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to San Diego, California. He fought in the Yuma War and was responsible for survey parties mapping the Sierra Nevada range for railroad lines. After promotion to captain of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry in March 1855, he served mainly in Texas until 1861. References * - Wikipedia * George Stoneman - Cullum's Register of West Point Cadets Category:19th-century American politicians Category:American Civil War prisoners of war Category:American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Category:Members of the Mormon Battalion Category:California Democrats Category:Cavalry commanders Category:Democratic Party state governors of the United States Category:Governors of California Category:Members of the Mormon Battalion Category:People from Busti, New York Category:People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Category:Union Army generals Category:United States Army generals Category:United States Military Academy alumni